Islamic Philosophy and Law - Essay Example

The result was a split between the Sunnis, who sought elections, and the Shi-ites, who sought a heritage accession. Now, the rift has meant further difference between the two groups of Islam who have claimed their respective leaders as political figures (in the case of the Sunnis) and prophets with divine insight (in the case of the Shi-ites). As such, followers of both sects have a different kind of respect for their leader and for the modern translations of ancient Islamic texts. Islamic law is very specific, with rules governing everything from punishments for stealing or adultery to the proper methods for burying the dead or how to conduct business.

Sunni law is based on four different schools: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii and Hanbali, with specific reference to both the Qur'an and the Sunnah as perfected doctrine. While Sunni laws are quite similar to Shi-ite laws in that they subscribe to both major texts, the major differences in law are in terms of modern society. As Shi-ites put faith in their divine leaders (Imams) to show them towards the path of religious enlightenment through Islamic law, the majority of Sunnis instead believe that with democratic elections their people might be able to use religious doctrine to the best of their abilities in politics.

Both sides are adamant in their interpretations of Islamic belief and law, and as such are often at violent odds with one another. Sunnis reason that it is through the already perfected Islamic texts that Muslims will find enlightenment, while Shi-ites conversely believe that the descendents of Muhammad are able to bring deeper insights to the previous texts and offer a better way of life for the future. Because of these differences, inheritance laws and punishment laws differ between the two Islamic sects and no permanent common ground has been cultivated as yet.

Not unlike the rift between Catholics and the Orthodox Church, Sunni and Shi-ite Muslims have both grown past their original religious teachings to such an extent that the two can never come back together; in terms of governance this proves to be a continuously difficult challenge in the Middle East. Islamic philosophy has been influenced a great deal by the Persian (or in modern terms Iranian) theologian Al-Ghazali, who lived from 1058 to 1111. Al-Ghazali believed that every event and interaction was occasionalistic, or the will of god as opposed to a simple physical reality.

He wrote a book called The Incoherence of the Philosophers in the 11th century that would change the face of Islamic theology greatly for years to come; the book moved the Islamic school of thought from its focus on Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato towards a more rigorously religious point of view. Where Islamic scholars of past centuries had celebrated the teachings of Greeks like Plato and Socrates, Al-Ghazali denounced the men as non-believers and encouraged his fellow Muslims to embrace their religion instead of thinking outside of it.

He made clear his belief that supporters of Greek philosophy were being disloyal to Islam, and literally hundreds of Muslims gathered to hear these theories where he lectured at the Al-Nizamiyya